the kitchen counter, exactly where I left it before going to bed.”
Silence on the other end of the line told Ellie Viv’s wheels were turning.
“Are they asking you to give it back? Because I really like that handbag.”
“Not for good. But the police want to look through one that’s intact and holds the same stuff as Lilah Perry’s. And since she and I compared bags yesterday, except for the perfume, I know ours were identical.”
“So I’d get the Bottega Veneta back in a couple of days?”
Ellie breathed out a laugh. “Of course you’ll get it back, but I can’t promise when, especially if it’s being confiscated as evidence. And if that’s the case, I’ll ask Jeffery King to hook me up with another one. I don’t see why he’ll say no if I tell him the cops took it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“All right, give me a minute.” The pages turned in Viv’s appointment book. Then she said, “I have a ten o’clock that should last about an hour. After I finish, I’ll go to your place and gather things up, then get down to the Fashion Center around one. I don’t have anyone else coming in until five for a dinner meeting.”
“One o’clock is good, but don’t rush. Detective Vaughn didn’t say it was urgent or anything. He just wants to take a look, and apparently Lilah’s is gone.”
“Gone? Like disappeared?”
Viv could be trusted. She’d never repeat a secret if she was told it had to do with a case. “Keep it to yourself, but it’s gone, though they have her personal tote. Vaughn thinks the killer took it because he or she didn’t want the police to know how Lilah came into contact with peanuts.”
“What! Wait a second. I don’t remember seeing peanuts in your bag.”
“Not real peanuts—something like peanuts.”
“ Like peanuts? Is this a game, like find the item that’s a peanut but isn’t a peanut?”
Ellie sighed. “I’ll explain when you get here. Just bring the bag and make sure everything is in it, okay?”
“Okay, fine. So where do I meet you?”
She gave Viv directions to the rear door she used to take the dogs out. There was no security guard, so Viv could enter without an ID or pass, and she’d be right at the site instead of walking the fashion gauntlet. Knowing Vivian, if she entered through the main door, she’d get so distracted by the hair, makeup, and clothing circus going on around her, she’d never find her way to the dog pen.
After tucking her phone back in her bag, Ellie slumped in her chair to think. As usual, it appeared that her four-legged buddy was right. No matter how hard she tried to mind her own business, something always seemed to find her. She hadn’t done a thing to encourage it, yet her gift bag would become part of the investigation, and Vaughn was already using her as his inside informant.
“Er—your charges need a quick outside, Triple E,” came a familiar voice from down below. “ A couple of ’em are lockin’ their rear legs together, me included.”
Standing, she slipped on her jacket, and collected leashes. “We’ll go,” she told Rudy, “but with eight of you and a Greyhound, it will have to be in two shifts.” She scanned the canines. “Okay, paws up if you need to go outside right away.”
Muffin, a Yorkie, and Kiki, a French bulldog, and Jojo and Klingon, the mini Schnauzers, all barked a “yes” so they were first out of the pen. Just then, Patti Fallgrave sidled over dressed in a red kimono-like gown, and Ellie decided to take advantage of her visit. “Please tell me you have some free time.”
“I can spare about fifteen minutes; then I’m due at a styling station,” she answered, pointing to her wrapped-in-rollers hair. “According to Karen Hood, I’m being completely transformed for my next trip on the catwalk.”
Ellie decided she had to meet this Karen person, who seemed to be the hairstylist of the moment. Since everyone wanted the woman to do their hair, she was supercurious.
Silence on the other end of the line told Ellie Viv’s wheels were turning.
“Are they asking you to give it back? Because I really like that handbag.”
“Not for good. But the police want to look through one that’s intact and holds the same stuff as Lilah Perry’s. And since she and I compared bags yesterday, except for the perfume, I know ours were identical.”
“So I’d get the Bottega Veneta back in a couple of days?”
Ellie breathed out a laugh. “Of course you’ll get it back, but I can’t promise when, especially if it’s being confiscated as evidence. And if that’s the case, I’ll ask Jeffery King to hook me up with another one. I don’t see why he’ll say no if I tell him the cops took it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“All right, give me a minute.” The pages turned in Viv’s appointment book. Then she said, “I have a ten o’clock that should last about an hour. After I finish, I’ll go to your place and gather things up, then get down to the Fashion Center around one. I don’t have anyone else coming in until five for a dinner meeting.”
“One o’clock is good, but don’t rush. Detective Vaughn didn’t say it was urgent or anything. He just wants to take a look, and apparently Lilah’s is gone.”
“Gone? Like disappeared?”
Viv could be trusted. She’d never repeat a secret if she was told it had to do with a case. “Keep it to yourself, but it’s gone, though they have her personal tote. Vaughn thinks the killer took it because he or she didn’t want the police to know how Lilah came into contact with peanuts.”
“What! Wait a second. I don’t remember seeing peanuts in your bag.”
“Not real peanuts—something like peanuts.”
“ Like peanuts? Is this a game, like find the item that’s a peanut but isn’t a peanut?”
Ellie sighed. “I’ll explain when you get here. Just bring the bag and make sure everything is in it, okay?”
“Okay, fine. So where do I meet you?”
She gave Viv directions to the rear door she used to take the dogs out. There was no security guard, so Viv could enter without an ID or pass, and she’d be right at the site instead of walking the fashion gauntlet. Knowing Vivian, if she entered through the main door, she’d get so distracted by the hair, makeup, and clothing circus going on around her, she’d never find her way to the dog pen.
After tucking her phone back in her bag, Ellie slumped in her chair to think. As usual, it appeared that her four-legged buddy was right. No matter how hard she tried to mind her own business, something always seemed to find her. She hadn’t done a thing to encourage it, yet her gift bag would become part of the investigation, and Vaughn was already using her as his inside informant.
“Er—your charges need a quick outside, Triple E,” came a familiar voice from down below. “ A couple of ’em are lockin’ their rear legs together, me included.”
Standing, she slipped on her jacket, and collected leashes. “We’ll go,” she told Rudy, “but with eight of you and a Greyhound, it will have to be in two shifts.” She scanned the canines. “Okay, paws up if you need to go outside right away.”
Muffin, a Yorkie, and Kiki, a French bulldog, and Jojo and Klingon, the mini Schnauzers, all barked a “yes” so they were first out of the pen. Just then, Patti Fallgrave sidled over dressed in a red kimono-like gown, and Ellie decided to take advantage of her visit. “Please tell me you have some free time.”
“I can spare about fifteen minutes; then I’m due at a styling station,” she answered, pointing to her wrapped-in-rollers hair. “According to Karen Hood, I’m being completely transformed for my next trip on the catwalk.”
Ellie decided she had to meet this Karen person, who seemed to be the hairstylist of the moment. Since everyone wanted the woman to do their hair, she was supercurious.
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